1 reply to this topic

[RazM4tt]

Happy Friday,

 

Im looking into recreating the zone 1 testing at my facility. Currently, I believe we are over-testing zone 1 by doing 10 swabs (in rooms where there is only 1 piece of equipment with minimal zone 1 areas). Im trying to decide between lowering the number of tests to 3-4 for zone 1 or transitioning over to in-house testing with Hygiena products. Currently we are sending 3M Sponges to a lab practically on the other side of the country. For zone 1 we are paying for APC, coliform and salmonella. We have NEVER had salmonella appear in zone 1 2 3 or 4 in the past 2 years but will continue to test for it in zone 2 and 3 for industry standards. Im trying to adjust the budget so we can do more frequent testing in zones to cover more of the facility. My question is, would using a Total Viable Count Hygiena Test for zone 1 be a good replacement for the current program? Are these products reliable? My plan would be if there is any positive TVC swab in zone 1 then we immediately sanitize and intensify testing for that room (ie - Coliform and salmonella testing). What experiences to you have with Hygiena Microsnap Products (other than ATP testing). Thank you!

[MDaleDDF]

Happy Friday,

 

Im looking into recreating the zone 1 testing at my facility. Currently, I believe we are over-testing zone 1 by doing 10 swabs (in rooms where there is only 1 piece of equipment with minimal zone 1 areas). Im trying to decide between lowering the number of tests to 3-4 for zone 1 or transitioning over to in-house testing with Hygiena products. Currently we are sending 3M Sponges to a lab practically on the other side of the country. For zone 1 we are paying for APC, coliform and salmonella. We have NEVER had salmonella appear in zone 1 2 3 or 4 in the past 2 years but will continue to test for it in zone 2 and 3 for industry standards. Im trying to adjust the budget so we can do more frequent testing in zones to cover more of the facility. My question is, would using a Total Viable Count Hygiena Test for zone 1 be a good replacement for the current program? Are these products reliable? My plan would be if there is any positive TVC swab in zone 1 then we immediately sanitize and intensify testing for that room (ie - Coliform and salmonella testing). What experiences to you have with Hygiena Microsnap Products (other than ATP testing). Thank you!

I stopped doing micros on zone 1 years ago, and I'm glad I did.   I use Hygenia pro snaps, and you get an instant go/no go on clean, so I can have my guys re-clean if needed during the weekend.    What happens if you get a hit on a zone 1 swab, and you've run production the last 5 days while you've been waiting for your results?    You basically have to assume all that product is dirty.    Not good.

All this depends on what you make, how you make it, etc of course.   What's right for my place isn't right for everyone.   But I do Hygenia swabs on zone 1, zone 2 I test for Listeria, Salmonella, Enterobac, and Y&M, zone 3 I do Listeria and Salmonella, and Zone 4 are investigative only.   All this also depends on the body of evidence you've built up over the years.   My auditors tell me I over test considering what we make, and I have 15 years of clean results to show.